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Children being evaluated for abdominal injuries who showed no signs of trauma on the abdomen or chest, neurological changes, abdominal pain or tenderness, abnormal breathing, or vomiting require abdominal CT scans in just 0.1% of cases, a study found. Researchers assessed more than 12,000 pediatric patients with abdominal trauma and found that CT scans offered little useful information about a patient's condition in most cases. The findings appear in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

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U.S. researchers looked at youths who received a CT scan after suffering minor blunt head trauma and found fewer traumatic brain injuries among patients who experienced isolated vomiting compared with those who showed symptoms other than vomiting. The study was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Children whose parents strongly favored getting a CT scan for a minor head trauma were 4.4 times more likely to undergo the procedure than those whose parents deferred to the doctor, a Japanese study has found. Researchers reported in JAMA Pediatrics that 40% of children at low risk for suffering a brain injury had been scanned because their parents preferred it. "It's often that the parents' anxiety is what drives the physician to request the scan," emergency physician Dr. Robert Glatter said.

Idaho State University researchers have built a computer model of a spiral-toothed fish dubbed Helicoprion, which lived 270 million years ago. Using CT scans, the researchers discovered that the creature's saw-like teeth were at the bottom of its jaw. "As the mouth closes, the teeth spin backwards ... so they slash through the meat that they are biting into," said researcher Leif Tapanila.

Children whose parents filed for divorce after they turned seven were more at risk for having lower grades than their peers, U.K. researchers found. They also noted that having many siblings and frequent punishments at home were associated with worse test scores.

The American College of Gastroenterology has released a list of symptoms indicating when patients who have abdominal pain should see a doctor. These include steady, severe or recurring pain; pain that impairs the ability to work; and loss of weight or appetite. Symptoms that warrant immediate medical attention include abdominal pain with fever, diarrhea, blood in the stool, change in urine color, vomiting blood, jaundice, abdomen swelling, tenderness in the abdomen or persistent constipation.